Side-release buckle device

ABSTRACT

A side-release buckle including a female portion with an extension is disclosed. The present buckle includes a male portion and the female portion. The female portion has an opening for receiving the male portion. After the male portion is attached to the female portion, the extension of the female portion can cover the whole rear part of the male portion. Thus, only an integratedly plain surface of the female portion including the extension can be seen from a front view. There can print different drawing on the plain surface to increase delicacy of the buckle. Further, the belt connected to the male portion is prevented from being worn because of the shielding protection of the plain surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a buckle device and more particularly to a side-release buckle of which a female portion has an extension to cover the whole belt support of a male portion after both are clicked together.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] It is well known in convention to provide a plastic buckle with a release feature effected by pressing a portion of the buckle for nylon belts such as are used in luggage, baggage, suitcase and similar carrying container.

[0005] Please refer to FIG. 1, it shows a perspective view of one conventional side-release buckle. The main parts of this kind of buckle include a female portion 10 and a male portion 20. Further, the female portion 10 includes an opening 13 in the front, a release hole 14 on the side, and a belt support 15 in the rear to attach a belt 155 (as shown in FIG. 2B). The male portion 20 includes an insertion 21 and a tongue 27 in the front, and a belt support 15 with a base 29 in the rear to attach another belt 255 (as shown in FIG. 2B also).

[0006] After clicking both 10 and 20 to connect together, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the insertion 21 and tongue 27 of the male portion 20 are put into the opening 13 of the female portion 10. The elastic insertion 21 will then be mounted in the release hole 14 of the female portion 10 so as to complete the locking purpose.

[0007] However, there are some drawbacks existed in traditional buckles as follows.

[0008] a. After the connection, the rear part of the male portion 20 including the belt support 15 and the base 29 can be seen. It is not good for beauty.

[0009] b. Also the belt 255 is directly attached on the base 39 of the belt support 15. The belt is easy to be worn without shielding protection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a side-release buckle of which a female portion has an extension to cover the whole belt support of a male portion while both are clicked together.

[0011] In one aspect of the present invention, the whole belt support of the male portion is covered by the extension so an appearance of the buckle is more delicate.

[0012] In another aspect, the extension prevents the belt attached to the male portion thereunder from being worn because of the shielding protection. It increases the lifetime of the belt.

[0013] Further in another aspect, the female portion of the buckle has a larger integrated surface for printing some drawings or alike designs.

[0014] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The present invention will become fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

[0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the a prior art buckle device;

[0017]FIG. 2A is a front view of FIG. 1 after the connection of prior art buckle;

[0018]FIG. 2B is a side view of FIG. 1 after connection of the prior art buckle;

[0019]FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a side-release buckle according the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 4 shows a front view of FIG. 3 after the connection of the present invention; and

[0021]FIG. 5 shows a side view of FIG. 3 after the connection of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a preferred embodiment of a side-release buckle according to the invention is shown. The buckle of the present invention includes a female portion 30 and a male portion 40. Further, the female portion 30 includes an opening 33 in the front, the release holes 31 on both sides thereof, a belt support 35 in the rear to attach a belt 355 (as shown in FIG. 4), and an extension protruding from the upper surface of the opening 33. The male portion 40 includes an insertion 41 and a tongue 47 in the front, and a belt support 45 with a base 49 in the rear to attach another belt 455 (as shown in FIG. 4 also).

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 show a front and side view of FIG. 3 respectively. As shown in the figures, when clicking both 30 and 40 to connect together, it only needs to aim the insertion 41 and tongue 47 of the male portion 20 to put into the opening 33 of the female portion 30. The elastic insertion 21 will then be mounted in the release hole 31 of the female portion 30 so as to complete the locking purpose.

[0024] It is obvious to show that the extension 39 of the female portion 30 can cover the whole rear parts of the male portion 40 so that one can only see a plain surface of the female portion 30 including the extension 39 from a front view. It shows the present buckle with a more delicate appearance.

[0025] Furthermore, the extension 39 prevents the belt 455 attached to the male portion 40 from being worn because of the shielding protection. It therefore increases the lifetime of the belt.

[0026] Finally, because only the female portion 30 including the extension 39 from a front view can be seen, the female portion 30 of the buckle has a larger integrated surface for printing some drawings, such as cartoon actors, ornamental makings, etc., to improve beauty of the buckle.

[0027] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A side-release buckle device, comprising: a male portion including an insertion in a front, and a first belt support in a rear to attach a first belt; and a female portion including an opening for receiving the male portion in a front, a release hole on a sides, a second belt support in a rear to attach a second belt, and an extension protruding from an upper surface of the opening to cover the whole first belt support in the rear of the male portion after the male portion and the female are connected together.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the male portion further includes a tongue in the front thereof.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the opening and the extension are an integratedly plain surface.
 4. The device of claim 3, further comprising a drawing printed on the plain surface. 